Hands on learning center

Beat Saber is an honest-to-goodness VR masterpiece that recently became one of the first VR games in the world to have sold over 1 million copies.The core mechanic; chopping virtual blocks with virtual swords to a pumping soundtrack is as simple as it is brilliant and if I'm demoing VR to a newcomer, Beat Saber is always top of the pile. This is mainly due to how incredible it feels to play but also because it's just so easy to get to grips with. And I mean, come on, a game that lets you wield lightsabers like some kind of badass, drum 'n' bass Jedi? How could that not be the height of awesomeness?Obviously the phenomenal success of Beat Saber was bound to spawn imitators sooner or later, so who better to try its hand at some VR rhythm action than Harmonix, the company behind Guitar Hero, Rockband and Dance Central. Audica has been in Early Access on Steam for about two weeks now so I decided to swap my sabers for lasers for this week's episode of Ian's VR Corner and take this new VR … [Read more...] about Ian goes hands on with Audica, Harmonix’s new rhythm shooter for VR

I’ve always loved how stupid the Trials games were. Breaking, bending, and blowing up that poor crash test dummy turned driver was the necessary comedic balance to steadily trying to make it to the end of the course in one piece. Trials Rising, the newest upcoming game in the series, seems to have that core silliness but with an updated presentation and more cohesive, down to earth set of levels. And I mean “down to earth” in a literal sense. Trials Fusion, the first entry fully published by Ubisoft in 2014, often favored synthetic, metal tracks instead of the muddy, natural environments the series built itself on. It had that signature Trials gameplay, but felt a little out of its element when taken out of the elements. Trials Rising Preview: Putting the “Dirt” Back in “Dirt Bike” Trials Rising seems to be aware of this slight idiosyncrasy, judging by the few tracks I played on. One took place near the iconic Egyptian pyramids while another … [Read more...] about Trials Rising Was Still Dumb and Great but in a More Cohesive Way [Hands-On Preview]

A report has emerged suggesting that the GDDR6 supply for next-gen Nvidia GTX 1180 and AMD GPUs will see competition from outside of the GPU market which might put GDDR6 supply in Jeopardy for next-gen GPUs. Next-gen Nvidia GTX 1180 and AMD GPUs will be using the GGDDR6 memory as VRAM, which provides better performance compared to the GDDR5. According to the report from EE Times, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning sector of the market will be using the GDDR6 memory as they require ultra-fast memories to operate properly. Applications such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which need ultra-fast memories, have shorted gamers of their GDDR supply, so it’s probably a good idea that makers of the technology are ramping up delivery. According to the report, the following sectors can potentially further eat up the GDDR6 supply for next-gen Nvidia GTX 1180, as these sectors have moved away from DDR3 and DRR4 memories and benefit greatly from the use of … [Read more...] about GDDR6 Supply For Next-Gen Nvidia GTX 1180 In Jeopardy Thanks To AI And Machine Learning

Astronomers believe that there are more than 40 billion planets inhabiting the space of the Milky Way. There are nearly as many movies filed under Netflix’s “sci-fi & fantasy” tag. Reaching them all in a single lifetime would require light-speed Wi-Fi and a galaxy brain, so allow us to provide a streaming wormhole. Tucked under the gas giants of the platform — we don’t need to tell you to watch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Armageddon or Guardians of the Galaxy — these are the Netflix sci-fi movies you should actually watch (and soon — they could pull a Krypton and disappear from the platform at any moment). Psychokinesis (2018) From Korean animator Yeon Sang-ho — best known for his jump to live action, 2016’s zombie knockout Train to Busan (also on Netflix) — Psychokinesis follows Shin, a bumbling, borderline-alcoholic security guard who drinks from a mountain spring recently infected by a meteorite and gains telekinetic … [Read more...] about 13 sci-fi movies now on Netflix that you need to see

For years, my vision for the ultimate learning space was taking form. I teach Game Design and Development at William Annin Middle School in Basking Ridge, NJ. My dream was to create a studio feel for my learning space where students could pursue different avenues for learning and have a wide variety of resources available for them. When I wrote the curriculum for the course I was able to build out the computer lab and include an Xbox 360 so students could create content for the Xbox using Visual C# and XNA Studio. This was a start, but I had bigger plans. My vision included large LCD wall-mounted TVs, cozy sitting areas, multiple gaming consoles, Virtual Reality headsets, tabletop games, and other resources to provide students with a wide variety of opportunities to take learning into their own hands. I was not sure how I would fund this venture, but that didn't stop me from dreaming BIG! In March, 2014 I discovered Donor's Choose. I created a project called Empowering Learners in … [Read more...] about The Evolution of a Game Dev Studio Inspired Learning Space